Christina Lagdameowas appointed as the Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on April 26, 2010. Prior to her appointment, she worked for 7 years for the White House Office of Management and Budget and examined over $45 billion in federal income support programs, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, Refugee Resettlement and issues relating to asset poverty. As an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, she led the successful struggle to establish the first Asian American Studies Program in the DC metropolitan area. She is a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow, a Presidential Management Fellow and received her Master’s in Public Policy from the New School for Social Research in New York City. Christina very recently returned from India where she worked for over 2 years with an organization that rescues and rehabilitates women and children survivors of sex trafficking.

Judge Cheryl Nora Moss was elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2002and 2008 to the 8th Judicial District Court, Family Division, Clark County, State of Nevada. She is currently serving a six-year term until 2014. She has presided as a District Court Judge in Department I for the past 10 years. Judge Moss will welcome the delegates to the Filipina Summit as the highest ranking Filipina elected to public office in Nevada.

Dr. Connie Mariano is used to breaking barriers, used to shattering the glass ceiling. Born to a Navy father and Filipina mother in thePhilippines, Mariano traveled and lived military base to military base, typical of the life of a family in the American armed forces. Along the way, she accumulated life experiences and the desire to make her own mark in the world. She has achieved an impressive list of “firsts” that include:

the first military woman to become the White House Physician to the President

the first woman Director of the White House Medical Unit

the first Filipino American in US history to become a Navy Rear Admiral

Gloria T. Caoile is the Senior Political Director of the Asian PacificAmerican Labor Alliance (APALA), a national organization of Asian Pacific American labor union members. A founding member of the Asian Pacific American Women Leadership Institute (APAWLI), the only national organization dedicated to nurturing and developing leadership skills among Asian American and Pacific Islander women, Gloria also served on the boards of several civil rights groups including the Filipino American Civil Rights Advocates and the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations.

Born without arms, Jessica Cox now flies airplanes, drives cars, andotherwise lives a normal life using her feet as others use their hands. She holds the title of the first person without arms in the American Tae Kwon-Do Association to get a black belt and the first woman pilot in aviation history to fly with her feet. She graduated college with a degree in Psychology and is pursuing a career as an international motivational speaker!Mona Pasquil is the FIRST woman, FIRST Filipina American, and FIRST Asian American to serve as lieutenant governor of California.She was appointed on Nov. 4, 2009. Prior to the appointment, she served as Chief of Staff to former Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi. The granddaughter of Filipino immigrants and the daughter of a community leader and gifted jazz pianist, Mona, a longtime leader in the Asian American community was vice president for MHSC Partners Inc., a political consulting firm widely acknowledged for expertise in microtargeting and data analysis. She was appointed western political director in the Clinton White House, served as deputy CEO for the 2000 Democratic National Convention and as political director of the 2000 Gore-Lieberman campaign in California. She was one of the 30 members of the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee and one of the 11 that supported Hillary Clinton in the 2008 elections. In addition to working with California and Washington's heaviest political hitters, she has also worked as a strategic consultant for IBM's national state and local government sales team.

Zeny Cunanan founded Galaxy Global Corporation (GGC) in 1989 which offers a broad portfolio of program management services, including enterprise biometric software solutions, info technology, mobile communications, software engineering and IV&V processing services. Galaxy's clients and strategic partners include the Department of Defense, NASA, West Virginia High Tech Foundation, Lockheed Martin Corporation and the General Services Administration (GSA), among others. Zeny received her BS in Medical Technology, Magna Cum Laude from the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines. She also completed the Harvard University School of Business Administration Owner/President Management Program. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Information Technology and received the US Small Business Administration - Women in Business Advocate of the Year Award.